Britain must divert defence spending away from aircraft, ships and soldiers to combat the “incredibly serious threat” of cyberattack, according to Philip Hammond, the Defence Secretary.

As the United States openly accused the Chinese Government of launching cyberattacks against it, Mr Hammond said that politicians must “take our public with us” in justifying expenditure on cybersecurity at a time of heavy cuts to the Armed Forces.

“It is an incredibly serious threat,” he said at a gathering of defence ministers in Singapore. “There is a clear consensus that we ought to focus more on cyber and cyberdefence. But that is